#darrensteve

A gluging of wine was the only audible sound.

But, if you listened exceptionally close, one could hear the blood vessels in Steve’s skull implode.

Danny, who stopped mid-bite at the palpable tension, turned to his elder brother with a confused look. “ Those types?” he mouthed across the table.

Steve considered, only briefly, chucking the fork in his good hand clear through Rebecca’s eye socket. “What do you mean… ” Steve began in forced calmness. “ Those types?”

“Fairies.” Rebecca deadpanned. “Is it really safe for him to be playing with healthy young men? I mean, nothing against your little friend, but I wouldn’t want my little Daniel to get any diseases. All the running and shoving, and not to mention the showers, it just doesn't seem safe, does it?”

Danny gave his mother an uncertain look. “What’s not safe about it?” he asked.

Steve’s nails carved deep, crescent cuts into his palms. He felt the screams bubble up in his throat. Before he could let loose the burning words, Rebecca quipped up again.

“Well, it be like letting a slag into the boys dressing room, don’t you think Daniel?” Rebecca said to her husband, who downed the rest of his wine. “I mean, he’d only be a distraction to the other boys, and should anything happen, you know boys being boys and all, half the team would catch AIDs or something.”

Steve should’ve bitten his tongue —should’ve bitten it clean off in his own mouth—but no amount of therapy and self-inflicted dismemberment could hold him back.

“That talk from experience, Becca?” Steve said casually.

Daniel Sr. choked on his wine.

Danny’s mouth hung agape.

Rebecca nearly broke the very wine glass in her hand.

“Not personal experience, of course, don’t want to insinuate anything,” added Steve. “But, I mean, callin’ my friend a slag? Oy vey, you must know’em very well then. What’s that saying again? Takes one to know one.” 

Words: 21,657 Chapters: 3/12, Language: English

Fandoms: Cirque du Freak | The Saga of Darren Shan - Darren Shan

Relationships: Steve Leonard/Darren Shan

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Steve "Leopard" Leonard, Darren Shan, Angela Shan, Dermot Shan, Annie Shan, Original Characters

Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Homophobic Language, Internalized Homophobia, Recreational Drug Use, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Swearing, Eventual Smut, Eventual Romance, Drunk Sex, Masturbation, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Timelines, Domestic Violence